This program features the horn and clarinet in music that with the exception
of the two Nielsen works is not at all that familiar - at least not to me.

The Czech hornist Radek Baborāk is one of two principal horns with the
Berlin Philharmonic. The Austrian clarinetist Wenzel Fuchs has also been
a member of the orchestra since 1993. The Baborāk Ensemble has been
active since 2001, though this is the first time I have heard them.

The music on this disc is for the most part in a light vein and the selections
are all rather short, not to say insubstantial. The disc’s centerpiece
is the music Koechlin composed for the soundtrack of a film, Les Confidences
d’un Jouer de Clarinette that was never produced. It was based
on a novella by Erckmann and Chatrian. The story concerned a disappointed
love affair and musical friendship, and the score, originally intended for
small orchestra, was completed and published in 1981 by the composer’s
biographer, Pierre Renaudin. It consists of 18 very brief movements, 14 of
which feature horn and/or clarinet and which are recorded on this disc. While
the music lasts more than 23 minutes, the longest movement is under 3 minutes!
Some are for solo clarinet and others for clarinet and horn duet; there even
four movements for hunting horns and one for clarinet, viola and cello. The
most enjoyable, and substantial, in my opinion are the six movements scored
for clarinet and horn duet. Baborāk and Fuchs perform these with ease
and warmth that belies any technical difficulties. The appearances of the
hunting horns are suitably raucous, if ultimately forgettable.

Preceding the Koechlin are Martinů’s Serenade and Nielsen’s Serenata
in vano; following Koechlin are Nielsen’s Canto serioso and
Martinů’s Quartet for Clarinet, Horn, Cello and Side Drum. The
disc ends with an encore, Luciano Berio’s Musica Leggera. The
Nielsen works are probably the most familiar music on the disc. The Serenata
in vano is a minor masterpiece and receives a fluent performance here.
Baborāk’s tone is very mellow and his use of vibrato is typically
Eastern European. Fuchs balances well with his warm sound and supple playing,
as he also does in the other works. I really liked this account of the Serenata,
even if a Nordic one such as that by the Bergen Wind Quintet or that by the
New London Chamber Ensemble I reviewed here recently have more idiomatic
bite and tartness. Canto serioso, as presented here in an arrangement,
is not so successful. More is not necessarily better, and the additional
instruments detract from rather than enhance the original for horn and piano.
That said, it receives a fine enough performance. It’s hard to imagine
better performances, on the other hand, of the two Martinů works. Both
are delightful, even if neither is in the class of the composer’s best
music, such as his concertos. The Quartet with its accompanying side-drum
is deliciously quirky. And, the Berio encore is icing on the cake.

This program is varied enough in its repertoire, albeit out of the mainstream,
to appeal to a wider audience than one at first might imagine. Certainly
fans of horn and clarinet playing should hear it. The recorded sound is excellent,
with plenty of natural presence, but not in-your-face closeness. The booklet
notes by Jaromír Havlík are more than adequate, even if they
read like translations from the Czech, which they obviously are.